Bridging the gap between peoples

Page 14

It's been a dozen years since Paul LaRoche discovered his birth family and his Native roots. LaRoche, who was born on the Lower Brule Sioux reserve in South Dakota, was adopted by non-Native parents and didn't learn of his heritage until 1993.

LaRoche began performing in his teens and spent more than two decades working in the music business. He left the industry in 1989, but was drawn back after finding his birth family. He formed Brule and began his efforts to use his music to try to form a cultural bridge between Native and non-Native people.

Brule's latest album, The Collection, is just that, a collection of some of the best of Brule taken from the albums Lakota Piano, One Nation, We The People and Star People. The songs feature vocals in a number of languages, including Dakota, Lakota, Pueblo, Comanche, Arawak, Kiowa and Dineh.

LaRoche's music is a combination of new age instrumental and Native rhythms and vocals, with the weight given to each element changing from song to song. Some cuts are purely new age, some have a hint of Native sound and some-such as A Warrior's Song-are an equal mix. With others still-Stomp Dance, for instance-the drums and chanting come at you full-throttle. For even more variety, an upbeat pop tempo has been thrown into some of the songs for good measure.

The current incarnation of Brule features LaRoche on piano and electronic keyboards, his son, Shane LaRoche, on acoustic guitar and his daughter, Nicole LaRoche, adding classical flute to the mix. John Lone Eagle rounds out the group on traditional Native American drum.